Debbie Reynolds

The day after her daughter died, Debbie Reynolds is gone.  It has been a very difficult two days for Todd Fisher and Billie Lourd.  Debbie Reynolds' career peaked in the 50s and 60s.  As I look at her body of work on IMDb, I recognize only a handful that I have seen, many of those where she only had a supporting role.  Of her films, three stand out in my memory.

 

The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1964): I saw this a couple of times, the most recent of which would be more than 30 years ago.  Though Molly is famed for surviving the Titanic, that is a small part of the film.  I was reminded of Beverly Hillbillies when I saw the movie, where Molly is mostly rejected by the established aristocrats.  I should see this again and test my memory of it.

 

Mother (1996): I have rarely found Albert Brooks funny but this movie was an exception.  I think that can mostly be attributed to Debbie Reynolds' role as his mother.  I particularly enjoyed her going out on a date and telling him not to wait up or something like that.  Brooks was his normal hapless self, which worked in this movie.

 

Singin' in the Rain (1952): The greatest musical ever made.  Not long after my father bought a VHS, he taped this movie.  My brother and I watched this and Star Wars (I didn't know that Kathy Selden was Princess Leia's mom back then) almost weekly.  Her takedown of Don Lockwood's (Gene Kelly) ego might have served as a model for Leia's scruffy-looking nerf-herder comments to Han Solo 28 years later.  The movie is a joy from start to finish, full of song, dance, and humor.